Leading The Global Fight Against Vaccine-Preventable Infectious Diseases Through Investment, Innovation And Partnerships

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan

As of November 2022, over a million Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19, and more than 97 million cases of the disease have been reported in the U.S.¹ In just a matter of three short months, the percentage of Americans infected by SARS-CoV-2 jumped from 34% in December 2021 to 58% in February 2022.²

Over the course of the past two years, the healthcare industry and U.S. regulatory bodies have moved swiftly to better understand SARS-CoV-2 and how to best combat the evolving virus. As of May 31, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reviewed over 460 clinical trial protocols, and more than 700 drug development programs are in planning stages to address COVID-19, authorizing just four COVID-19 treatments for emergency use and providing full approval for two.³

Vaccines play an essential role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases and have saved millions of lives worldwide.⁴ As of November 2, 2022, about 266.4 million people, or 80.2% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.¹ Of those who have completed a primary series, about 112.5 million people have received a booster dose, but 49.1% of the total booster-eligible population have not yet received a booster dose.¹ These vaccines work by teaching your immune system to recognize certain viruses and preparing your body to fight back, helping to prevent or reduce the severity of the illness if you are exposed to a virus that causes a disease.⁵

Novavax, a biotechnology company focused solely on developing life-saving vaccines, is committed to improving health globally through the discovery, development and equitable delivery of innovative vaccines to help prevent serious infectious diseases. The organization has spent decades innovating a traditional protein-based vaccine technology platform that can help fight infectious disease threats that may emerge globally.

“For decades, Novavax has been refining our vaccine technology platform,” said John Trizzino, executive vice president, chief commercial officer and chief business officer at Novavax. “This allowed us to pivot quickly when COVID-19 hit and gave us the opportunity to scale up our operations, applying what we learned from this pandemic toward further development of a broad pipeline of vaccines designed to address today’s most pressing vaccine-preventable infections.”

Addressing COVID-19: A Truly Global Effort

Success in vaccine development requires passion and persistence from world-class scientists and infectious disease experts, according to Trizzino. And the COVID-19 pandemic showed how mission-driven people and companies, across continents, could come together to drive innovation.

As Novavax prepared to take its expertise in vaccines to address a pressing, global health emergency, the company quickly realized that scalable global manufacturing and distribution would be paramount. In addition to Novavax AB, the company’s Swedish site that produces its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant—a key component of its vaccines—and the purchase of a protein manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic that today houses its state-of-the-art Novavax CZ site, the company leveraged its relationships to create manufacturing partnerships that would reach as many communities globally as possible to collectively meet the challenge.

By partnering with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, and harnessing its own production and manufacturing capabilities, Novavax was able to deliver over 94 million doses of vaccines to 44 countries through November of 2022.

“Collaboration with partners and governments across the globe has played a significant role in accelerating our clinical development pace and allowed us to deliver an option to address the pandemic and the critical need for ongoing vaccination against COVID-19,” said Trizzino. “Achieving such aggressive timelines was a herculean feat and testament to the hallmark of our research, working to help prevent a range of infectious diseases using a proven technology platform.”

What’s Ahead: Prepared To Respond

As we head into the winter season, vigilance and ongoing vaccination will be key to ensuring that COVID-19 infection levels around the world move from pandemic toward endemic.⁶

Beyond COVID-19, many respiratory viruses with similar clinical presentations circulate year-round in the United States.⁷ Currently, the U.S. is experiencing increases in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and rhinovirus/enterovirus (RV/EV) that are higher than usual for this time of year,⁷ which is why companies like Novavax remain focused on developing solutions to help contain and treat future disease outbreaks.

“As soon as our team picks up the signal of a potential outbreak, we begin investigating and securing proteins from the virus-causing disease to plug into our platform,” Trizzino said.

“The past several years in the healthcare industry have seen incredible innovation, collaboration and progress in the development and delivery of vaccines around the world, and we have been proud to play an important role,” said Trizzino. “This unprecedented pandemic has created new ways of working and an increased appreciation for the important role that vaccines play in preventing serious illness.”

Vaccinations help stop the spread of disease and have helped save millions of lives.⁴ Find out more about vaccine solutions at novavax.com or wedovaccines.com.